The House on Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros

1. The House on Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros Background, Style, and Themes

2. Sandra Cisneros • Born 1954 in Chicago • Addresses issues of Hispanic American women • House on Mango Street was first novel • Based novel on her personal experiences and people she knew

3. Tells the story of Esperanza who is struggling to grow up in Chicago's poverty-stricken south side as a Mexican-American, young woman Bildungsroman: “coming of age” Told in short, interconnected chapters Relies on “lyrical narratives, vivid dialogue, and powerful descriptions” Written in vignettes The House on Mango Street

4. Style: Vignette • Short scene that focuses on one moment or gives insight into a character, idea, or setting • Does not have a plot which would make it a short story, but it does reveal something about the mood and tone. • Has a theme or central idea of its own and describes a specific event or character that is important. • Cisneros attempts to reveal the life of a young girl, a daughter of Mexican immigrants, growing up in the inner city of the United States.

5. Terms and Literary Devices • Simile: comparison using like or as • Metaphor: comparing two seemingly not alike things without using like or as • Imagery: visually descriptive or figurative language • Theme: a central idea in a text • Personification: giving inanimate object human-like qualities • Alliteration: the repetition of similar consonant sounds within a phrase or sentence.

6. Terms and Literary Devices • Tone: an attitude of a writer toward a subject or an audience • Can be formal, informal, serious, comic, sarcastic, sad, and cheerful (etc.) • Mood: certain feelings or vibes evoked in readers through words and descriptions • Indirect Characterization: showing the character's personality through speech, actions and appearance. • Dynamic Character: a character who changes throughout the novel

7. Terms and Literary Devices • Static Character: a character who remains the same throughout the novel • Bildungsroman: a coming of age story (German) • Double Consciousness: describes the individual sensation of feeling as though your identity is divided into several parts, making it difficult or impossible to have one unified identity (W.E.B. DuBois) • Gender Roles: the public image of being a particular gender that a person presents to others

8. Esperanza Cordero: The novel’s heroine and narrator • Rachel and Lucy: Esperanza’s best friends • Sally: A young girl Esperanza befriends the same year she moves to Mango Street • Nenny: Esperanza’s little sister • Marin: A young woman from Puerto Rico who lives with her cousin’s family Character List

9. Nenny: Esperanza’s little sister • Marin: A young woman from Puerto Rico who lives with her cousin’s family • Papa and Mama: Esperanza’s father and mother • Alicia: Esperanza’s friend who attends a local university • Cathy: Esperanza’s first friend in the neighborhood http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Pyf89VsNmg (story) Character List

10. What is the personal significance of your given name (first, middle and last)? Does your name mean different things to you, your family, and your friends? What are your nicknames? What do your nicknames mean to you and those who call you those names? Names

11. Identity • Community / Neighborhood • Freedom / Growth • Fitting In • Coming of Age • Home / Belonging • The “American Dream” House on Mango Street Themes

12. Maintaining a double identity or “double consciousness” • The power of art to transform lives • The influence of socioeconomic status • The influence of gender roles Add these themes to your notes! Additional Themes

13. How does environment shape our identity? What identities, if any, are permanent and which do we have the power to change? What roles do neighborhood and community play in shaping who we become? Essential Theme Questions